4)+Cross-cultural+communication

toc =Crosscultural Communication and Cultural Studies=

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The following types of theories can be distinguished in different strands: focus on effective outcomes, on accommodation or adaption, on identity negotiation and management, on communication networks, on acculturation and adjustment.[|[][|3][|]]

[[|edit]] Theories focusing on effective outcomes

 * Cultural Convergence
 * In a relatively closed social system in which communication among members is unrestricted, the system as a whole will tend to //converge// over time toward a state of greater cultural //uniformity//. The system will tend to diverge toward diversity when communication is restricted.[|[][|4][|]]
 * [|Anxiety/Uncertainty Management]
 * This theory focuses on management of uncertainty (e.g., the inability to predict or explain others` attitudes, behavior, or feelings) and anxiety (e.g., feelings of being uneasy, tense, worried, or apprehensive)[|[][|5][|]]
 * [|Effective Group Decision Making]
 * This theory is about decision making within groups. Therefore it presents different group constellations and their way of decision making as well as their prospect of success.[|[][|6][|]]

[[|edit]] Theories focusing on accommodation or adaption

 * [|Communication Accommodation Theory]
 * This theory focuses on linguistic strategies to decrease or increase communicative distances.
 * Intercultural Adaption
 * This theory is designed to explain how communicators adapt to each other in "purpose-related encounters", at which cultural factors need to be incorporated.[|[][|7][|]]
 * [|Co-cultural Theory]
 * In its most general form, co-cultural communication refers to interactions among underrepresented and dominant group members.[|[][|8][|]] Co-cultures include but are not limited to people of color, women, people with disabilities, gay men and lesbians, and those in the lower social classes. Co-cultural theory, as developed by Mark P. Orbe, looks at the strategic ways in which co-cultural group members communicate with others. In addition, a co-cultural framework provides an explanation for how different persons communicate based on six factors.

[[|edit]] Theories focusing on identity negotiation or management

 * [|Identity Management Theory]
 * [|Identity Negotiation Theory]
 * Cultural Identity Theory

[[|edit]] Theories focusing on communication networks

 * Networks and Outgroup Communication Competence
 * Intracultural Versus Intercultural Networks
 * Networks and Acculturation

[[|edit]] Theories focusing on acculturation and adjustment

 * Communication Acculturation
 * This theory attempts to portray "cross-cultural adaption as a collaborative effort in which a stranger and the receiving environment are engaged in a joint effort."[|[][|9][|]]
 * Anxiety/Uncertainty Management
 * When strangers communicate with hosts, they experience uncertainty and anxiety. Strangers need to manage their uncertainty as well as their anxiety in order to be able to communicate effectively with hosts and then to try to develop accurate predictions and explanations for hosts' behaviors.
 * Assimilation, Deviance, and Alienation States
 * Assimilation and adaption are not permanent outcomes of the adaption process; rather, they are temporary outcomes of the communication process between hosts and immigrants. "Alienation or assimilation, therefore, of a group or an individual, is an outcome of the relationship between deviant behavior and neglectful communication."[|[][|10][|]]

[[|edit]] Other Theories

 * [|Meaning of Meaning Theory] - "A misunderstanding takes place when people assume a word has a direct connection with its referent. A common past reduces misunderstanding. Definition, metaphor, feedforward, and Basic English are partial linguistic remedies for a lack of shared experience." [|[][|11][|]]
 * [|Face Negotiation Theory] - "Members of collectivistic, high-context cultures have concerns for mutual face and inclusion that lead them to manage conflict with another person by avoiding, obliging, or compromising. Because of concerns for self-face and autonomy, people from individualistic, low-context cultures manage conflict by dominating or through problem solving" [|[][|12][|]]
 * [|Standpoint Theory] - Is an individual experiences, knowledge, and communication behaviors are shaped in large part by the social groups to which they belong.
 * [|Stranger Theory] - At least one of the persons in an intercultural encounter is a stranger. Strangers are a 'hyperaware' of cultural differences and tend to overestimate the effect of cultural identity on the behavior of people in an alien society, while blurring individual distinctions.
 * [|Feminist Genre Theory] - Evaluates communication by identifying feminist speakers and reframing their speaking qualities as models for women’s liberation.
 * [|Genderlect Theory] - "Male-female conversation is cross-cultural communication. Masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking. Men's report talk focuses on status and independence. Women's support talk seeks human connection." [|[][|13][|]]
 * [|Cultural Critical Studies Theory] - The theory states that the mass media impose the dominant ideology on the rest of society, and the connotations of words and images are fragments of ideology that perform an unwitting service for the ruling elite.
 * [|Marxist Theory] - Marxism is a theory based on Dialectical Materialism, which aims at explaining class struggle and the basis of social relations through economics.

[[|edit]] Intercultural Communication Competence
Intercultural Communicative Competence has been said[|[][|14][|]] to combine three components:
 * knowledge (= information necessary to interact appropriately and effectively)
 * motivation (e.g. positive affect toward the other culture, empathy)
 * skills (= behavior necessary to interact appropriately and effectively)

several theories
**__High Context (e.g., Japan)__** **__Low Context (e.g., U.S.)__** Meaning is implicit in relationship & situation Meaning is explicit in the words spoken Emphasis on the group(collectivism) Emphasis on the individual(individualism) Indirectness valued Straight talk valued * Feminist dictionary * Sexual harassment * Glass ceiling “If my interpretation is correct, then readers, on hearing my explanation, will exclaim with their heads, “Aha !” Something they have intuitively sensed will be made explicit” (Tannen, in Griffin, 1997, p.455). Women seek human conntion Men are concerned with status: Women talk more in private Men talk more in public **Case #3** Women tell stories about others Men tell more stories than women Women actively listen and ask questions Men listen, but don’t ask question Women avoid conflict Men initiate conflict Male-female conversation is cross-cultural communication. GENDERLECT : That masculine and feminine styles of discourse are best viewed as two distinct cultural dialects rather than as inferior or superior ways of speaking.
 * __ Face-Negotiation Theory:High & Low Context Cultures __**
 * __ Face and Facework __**
 * Face: ** A person’s image in an interactional situation.
 * Facework: ** Management of face concerns & face needs in interaction.
 * __ Muted Group Theory __**
 * Developed by Cheris Kramarae
 * The language of a particular culture does not serve all its speakers equally, for not all speakers contribute in an equal fashion to its formulation. Women (and members of other subordinate groups) are not as free or as able as men are to say what they wish, when and where they wish, because the words and the norms for their use have been formulated by the dominant group, men. --Kramarae, quoted by Griffin, p. 459
 * Muted Group Theory: Premises **
 * Men and women perceive the world differently because of different experiences based in the division of labor.
 * Does this pertain to Carol Gilligan’s theory of moral development (A Different Voice)?
 * Men seek autonomy; they use ethic of justice.
 * Women seek connection; they use ethic of care.
 * Because of their political dominance, men have shaped the public vocabulary to reflect male-oriented experiences and perceptions.
 * Muted Group Theory: Evidence **
 * “Lexical bias” is in public language: cartoons, metaphors, terms for women’s speech, terms for sexual activity
 * Women are underrepresented in media, textbooks, cyberspace, etc.
 * Women must use male oriented systems of expression in public.
 * Women use private, “back channel” routes to discuss their experiences.
 * Muted Group Theory: Its Goal **
 * To change the “man-made” linguistic system (in the English language).
 * Examples:
 * Muted Group Theory: Some Questions **
 * Are women a muted group?
 * Is a person’s reaction to the theory influenced by her/his own social position?
 * Are there other muted groups? Evidence?
 * Is this a scientific theory, a humanistic theory, or does it draw from both perspectives?
 * Could some communication theories in this course be biased against muted groups? How can that be assessed?
 * __ Anxiety/Uncertainty Theory __**
 * Developed by W. Gudykunst
 * Cross-cultural encounters between cultural in-groups and strangers
 * Strangers experience anxiety and uncertainty.
 * Strangers often overemphasize cultural identity and cultural difference.
 * Anxiety/Uncertainty Theory **
 * Managing anxiety and uncertainty
 * Understand yours and others’ motivation
 * Increase knowledge
 * Improve skills
 * Increase sensitivity
 * Monitor competence
 * Anxiety/Uncertainty Theory **
 * Some Questions
 * 1. In what situations are people “strangers?”
 * 2. What are cross-cultural encounters?
 * 3. What are appropriate ways to communicate in cross-cultural situations? How does one determine appropriateness?
 * 4. Is appropriateness more important than effectiveness when one is a “stranger?”
 * __ Genderlect Styles __**
 * Deborah Tannen **
 * __ The ‘Aha’ Game/Critique __**
 * Case #1 **
 * Friendships
 * Intimacy
 * True solidarity
 * Communion
 * Independence
 * Hierarchy
 * Competitive accomplishment
 * Achievement
 * Case #2 **
 * For connection
 * To disclose details of life
 * To command attention
 * To convey information
 * Downplay self
 * Desire for community
 * Especially jokes
 * Focus on self
 * Case #4 **
 * 1) Nonverbals are used when listeningto acknowledge, “I’m listening”
 * 2) Questions establish connection
 * 1) Nonverbals are not used because it would mean, “I agree with you”
 * 2) Questions are not asked to preserve self-sufficiency and self-respect.
 * Case #5 **
 * Threat to connection
 * More comfortable with conflict
 * __Tannen’s Theory__ **
 * Problem: **
 * Miscommunication between men and women is all the more insidious because the parties usually don’t realize that they are in a cross- cultural encounter.
 * Solution: **
 * *Tannen believes that both men and women need to learn how to speak in the other’s voice.

Interestingly… Tannen mentioned that women needassertiveness trainingandmen need sensitivity training. Many companies do offer these trainingsessions And they focus primarilyon What people say and the way they say it.
 * Mutual understanding will bridge the cultural gap between sexes.


 * __ Questions __**
 * Does a chorus of aha’s mean Tannen is right?
 * Do you agree with Tannen that genderlect should be taught like French, Swahili, or any other foreign language?
 * Do you mind being “labeled” according to gender?
 * Can you think of any other ways women are different than men?